Matsuzaka shuts down Rays, 2-0
by Randy Booth on Oct 11, 2008 12:30 AM EDT
in Game Stories
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via d.yimg.com
Daisuke Matsuzaka knows when to kick it up a notch. Tonight, with all eyes on him, he did that -- and more.
After walking the bases loaded in the first inning, Matsuzaka buckled down and dominated the Rays for 7 innings to give the Sox a 2-0 victory over the Rays in game one of the ALCS.
Dice-K had a no-hitter going through 6 innings before finally giving up the first to Carl Crawford in the 7th. He allowed the first two base runners in the 8th before he was yanked, but no one can argue with this line: 4 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks and 9 strikeouts.
Simply put: he was amazing. He was what we wanted out of our No. 1 starter in this series.
Offensively, the Sox struggled against Rays starter James Shields. Shields hit his spots but the Sox seemed to adapt. Jed Lowrie hit a sac fly in the fifth to score Jason Bay and give the Sox a 1-0 lead. In the 8th, Kevin Youkilis doubled to score Dustin Pedroia. Youk had 3 hits on the game.
The Sox certainly weren't impressive at the plate, but it was just good enough. Had Dice-K pitched average tonight, the Rays would be up 1-0 in this series. But the Sox offense did what they had to do to win.
Dice-K set the tone just like Jon Lester did in the ALDS. The difference here is the fact we expected that out of Lester, but not Dice-K. We wanted 'good' out of Dice-K tonight but we got 'great.' He delivered like the big game pitcher he is.
The wind had to be knocked out of the Rays' sails after tonight. I think they expected to work Dice-K, get on base, run and get across the plate. But it didn't happen. The momentum has definitely swung in the Red Sox's favor.
Tomorrow it's Josh Beckett versus Scott Kazmir. It should be a great game.
Go Sox!
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Daisuke is my man
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 11, 2008 12:45 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Daisuke is insane
Not a Sox fan, but I want to chime in:
What the hell is up with that pitcher? He baffles the mind. How do you CONSISTENTLY walk people, get into bad counts, get the bases loaded et cetera ….. without allowing the people to score? Everytime I’ve seen this guy pitch, I always say “he’s walking too many people, they got the top of the order coming up, he’s gonna get hit next inning” and then he comes out, retires the side in order with 2 K’s.
95% of the time a batter gets a 3-0 count, he reaches base. I’d love an intelligent Sox fan to investigate how Daisuke pitches on 3-0 counts, because I’ll bet he gets out of those counts more than almost any pitcher in the league.
The stock market will never recover, our armies will never again be #1, and our children will drink filthy water for the rest of their lives - HST
by the fix is in on Oct 11, 2008 9:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Samurai curse!
This intgelligent Sox fan believes that Daisuke puts a samurai curse on the hitter when needed and paralyzes them from performing. You asked, and there you have it!
by NG on Oct 11, 2008 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Daisuke
He’s something else, man. Even in his best start, he gives us a fucking heart attack nearly every inning.
WHIP ain’t got shit on Daisuke.
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 11, 2008 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
After a 3-0 count, Matsuzaka has allowed 1 hit in 43 plate appearances.
by Randy Booth on Oct 11, 2008 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I came over here to say the same thing
I wanted to get a Boston Fans perspective since they probably have seen the bulk of his MLB starts.
Is there anything different this year you noticed from watching him….
It seems to me he just refuses to give in, so that allows him to pitch out of Jams and what not, but hes at 100+ pitches by the 5th every game, and in today’s game that means hes not gonna get more then 5-6 innings .
But I have seen some stats about how much better he gets with runners on base, and then again with RISP, and with bases loaded… and he has a very low SLG against.
One can’t claim unfamiliarity as hes been in the league for 2 full seasons now. So is he doing something different, was he a little unlucky in 2007 and a little lucky in 2008??
THoughts
p.s. I am a yankee fan (this post is not ment to bash Dice K, I am just also baffeled by his results given all the baserunners, and am curious as to redsox fans perceptions on the reasons for this… thanks).
Check out my baseball analysis blog FANalytics
by jbluestone on Oct 11, 2008 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Daisuke is a strike-out machine.
That’s part of the answer. His approach is typically to strike out every batter. Because he lacks a truly overpowering fastball (a la Beckett), he’ll be all around the plate. Pitches will come over it, and when he gets behind, he does throw fastballs. However, his fastballs are almost always on the corners, high or low, not over the middle of the plate. The downside of his approach is a lot of walks.
Daisuke, when he’s on, like last night, is an ace pitcher. He can get lots of strikeouts, get ahead of hitters, and bear down in tight spots. He projects a Zen-like air of calm on the mound, showing little emotion or frustration (while Fenway is about to erupt should he give up a hit with the bases loaded).
Daisuke was different in 2007. He pitched much more aggressively early in the season, and later he really struggled. This season he has been consistently good at preventing runs; going deep into games has been a problem though. It worked out though. He has so many great pitches, and can be quite different between starts in what he relies upon, so you never know what to expect. Who knows how 2009 will pan out for him?
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
by 0157H7 on Oct 12, 2008 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh
Until he gives us a bad start, I’ll call him Daisuke and not Dice-K. It worked last night. :)
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 11, 2008 12:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
And
we can only say “damn”, no other curses.
Well, I'll appreciate for you to keep my zingers outta your mouth!
by BoSox415 on Oct 11, 2008 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fine, damn it is
But I’m making no promises here.
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 11, 2008 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
By ESPN.com
But after the game, Billingsley was awkward when answering questions and unable to provide any details other than saying that catcher Russell Martin calls the games behind the plate and that “pitch selection” was most likely the culprit.
“I felt good; I felt I had good stuff,” said Billingsley, who added that a lot of the hits went the other way or found holes. “I didn’t do well [Friday] and I didn’t get the job done and I think pitch selection was kind of what the problem was.”
He also said that when he’s not feeling comfortable with what Martin’s calling behind the plate, he’ll shake him off. When Martin was asked whether Billingsley was shaking him off, he said, “Not necessarily. Not that I noticed. Not more than usual.”
Bills is now officially an idiot. This really pissed me off.
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 11, 2008 12:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Wow.
Billingsley with potentially an honest but too honest and absolutely a “passing the buck” /“throwing under the bus” answer, and Martin with the “company line” answer.
"Are you a real doctor, or a doctor like Dr. Pepper is a doctor?"
by Allen Chace on Oct 11, 2008 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am pumped about tonight. Any early predictions for Beckett vs. Kazmir?
by Randy Booth on Oct 11, 2008 3:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Beckett is either hurt or he is not??
We should be able to tell within 2 innings, 3 at the most. If he is hurt, I not only give the edge tonight to the Rays, but I also change my pick for the series and WS winner.
BTW, let me interject this here where nobody will see it. Make believe this is in small print because I do not know how to change the point size here—Varitek is just awful offenisvely and really needs to go!
by NG on Oct 11, 2008 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kazmir is going to get rocked some more
Will Shields REALLY pitch at Fenway? Is Maddon drunk? Check the splits, I couldn’t get myself to believe…
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 11, 2008 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
this series is over
Think about Beckett and Lester are even better than Matsuzaka. Too easy this one might even end up being a sweep. Lester is the best of the three he is going to win game 3 too easy. Be fun to watch tonight. get your free sports picks daily at http://www.CTSportsPicks.com
by ctsportspicks on Oct 11, 2008 5:35 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Very optimistic.
Beckett’s been a shell of himself all season, even before the oblique strain. We can’t count on winning any of his games. And Wake is a huge question mark for game four. I’m still assuming this’ll be a tight series.
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
by 0157H7 on Oct 11, 2008 7:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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